The White House launched an ambitious effort to enlist the private sector in its efforts to reclaim and conserve water Tuesday, saying it’s critical for the country to better manage water supplies that are under increasing pressures from climate change.

As this gorgeously illustrated compendium on the pear reveals, various generations of Europeans feasted on a wider and better selection of pears than we do today. Of course, Harry & David, the Oregon company that invented mail order pears in the 1930s, helped bring the superlative pear experience to Americans.

There’s nothing like a rainy day to hunker down and watch an old movie, which is what I [David Festa] did recently as welcome showers rolled across California, bringing temporary relief to our drought-scorched landscapes. The movie was “There Will Be Blood,” and though it’s about the oil boom in late 19th-century California, a few memorable lines from Daniel Day Lewis’ character reminded me of our state’s current water problem.

In the midst of the worst drought in memory, California’s congressional delegation has failed once again to compromise on a $1.3 billion water bill that could deliver more water for farms and help the environment.

Not content to hope for El Niño storms, state officials on Tuesday approved a plan that — though watered down in the end — could result in better flows next year for endangered fish species decimated by drought.